Mute
As silent a Cybertronian as you will ever find, MUTE has not spoken a word in over 5 millennium. Often found listening to a variety of sounds, from the music of various cultures, the noises of a myriad of creatures, the screams of the thousands of Autobots he has witnessed the end of, through to complete silence. In cassette mode can interface with any device to extract, copy and store data, even if encrypted. In robot mode can interface with any technology, even other Cybertronian life to search for and rip out data no matter how well hidden. Carries a pair of bladed tonfa and various assorted melee weapons, and can manipulate sound into weapon under his control. His silent nature, and reputation, often creeps even other Decepticons out, putting barriers between him and his allies. Despite this he is one of the most dedicated Decepticons in the ranks, with zero interest in power or having authority and a near single minded focus on whatever task he is given. History Mute was originally part of a duo of tape Decepticons (brothers as it were), tasked with infiltration and data retrieval. His partner Contrast was the infiltrator, using his holograms to sneak them into enemy territory when their size and alt-modes could not get the job done. In those days Mute was very different, and his name more often than not referred to what the other Decepticons wished they could do to him (even his own brother Contrast on many occasions). Basically he would never shut up, and his acoustic control meant he also could never be ignored if he wanted to make a point. If it weren't for how good he was at retrieving data then someone might have strongly suggested Soundwave do a little reprogramming on him. Not to say what he said wasn't worth listening to, often it was, but it was also incessant and unending. This was the case until one mission the two were on where Mute's incessant chatting distracted him from his brother being discovered by Autobots. Outnumbered and outgunned Contrast fought the Autobots off as best he could, giving as much time for his brother to gather data. Eventually being brought down by the Autobots, who then scattered throughout their outpost to look for more infiltrators, leaving Contrast to die, guarded by a sole Autobot who had sustained significant damage himself. Mute had the good fortune to eject himself from the console while the Autobot was distracted momentarily dealing with his own injuries. Seeing his brothers broken frame, the very energon draining from it and very clearly with his spark failing, sent Mute a bit nuts (like the Decepticon tapes don't start a good way there already), but he didn't go into a rage like his other brothers might, instead his fury came forth in a cold and calculating manner, analysing the only Autobot in the room with absolute detachment. Evaluating the acoustics of the room, and utilising his sonic control to silence everything in the room, emitting counter sounds to anything he picked up. This allowed him to walk right up behind the already heavily injured Autobot (who was more than a little confused at the absolute silence) and with only a little resistance execute the Autobot, whose only real defence was to claw at Mutes face, an act that in his fury Mute hardly noticed despite the significant damage it caused to his face. With that done, Mute continued to act in what would outwardly appear to be a cold and calculating manner, accessing the Autobots computer again briefly to grab personnel data and video footage of the fight that killed his brother. Moving to his brother, Mute was witness to his final few moments, and the smile on Contrasts face having witnessed the near immediate karma one of his killers had faced. Taking his brothers insignia, Mute then placed an explosive grenade within his brothers broken frame, set to detonate when anyone moved the body. Mute then proceeded to leave, sneaking past searching Autobots, and back to Decepticon territory. On returning to Decepticon territory, Mute handed over Contrasts insignia to confirm his status as KIA. He also handed over what intel he had gathered from the outpost, but kept the video of Contrasts death and the personnel list to himself, eventually tagging the Autobot names in the Decepticon systems to alert him if any showed up in reports and combat encounters etc. Mute himself changed at this point, since the moment he saw Contrasts dying body, Mute has never uttered a single word. He also had a number of physical changes made to his body. First he refused to have the facial scars removed. While the injuries were repaired, it was done in such a way to leave the scars. However Mute also had a visor placed over his whole face, acting as a new face in effect, and acting like a view screen to all who see it. Typically this has a visual representation of the data Mute is currently analysing present on it, not that anyone would be able to realise that from the images themselves. In addition he researched ways to interface with any data holding device, including other Cybertronians. While he can't read minds like Soundwave, he can in effect rip data out of Autobots (or Decepticons), primarily by finding ways to lower the firewall like programming that protects their data banks and then simply ripping the information out of them. It is not subtle process, nor is it in any way painless. From then on Mute has served the role of data gathering from any source, either infiltrating enemy outposts and grabbing data from standard sources such as computers, or by less traditional interrogation of enemies. He has also kept his optics (or view screen as the case is now) on the look out for those Autobots blamed for the death of his brother. Those he has found over the years have not survived long, and the pain inflicted by the end meant their end was typically a welcome one for them. Though not a single one of them uttered a scream, or at least not one that could be heard. While Mutes original motivations would have been quite simple that he was created to be a Decepticon, these have clearly changed to be primarily about revenge on the whole Autobot cause, and certain Autobots in particular. Alternative Universes Apocalypse World In the Apocalypse World alternate future, Mute was an Autobot who was tortured and killed by Soundwave. Category:Con-Tapes